Member Article

Save a life, pay a fine

A Belgian man who stopped an old woman being crushed in train doors as she got onto a train was handed a £40 pound fine for causing a delay. Daniel Dewulf from Ostend was given the fine by a conductor after he pulled open the train doors after they closed on the elderly lady as she tried to get on.

He said: “I heard the conductor’s whistle just as I got on the train and then realised someone else was trying to get on. The doors had closed on the elderly woman, trapping her. In order to prevent a tragedy I pushed the door open and helped her get in. She thanked me profusely. But the conductor gave me a fine because he said my actions increased the chance of a delay. He wasn’t interested when I tried to explain to him that I had only opened the doors to try and save an old woman’s life.”

Belgian Railways has now apologised to Dewulf, but are still after their money. A spokesman said: “We should have fined the woman in question for boarding the train after the whistle.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .